California to lead state level movement to ignore Trump climate exit

"So we're getting out", Trump said. But the national targets are voluntary, leaving room for the USA and the almost 200 other countries in the agreement to alter their commitments. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that while the United States should have remained in the 2015 deal, he would not judge Trump. On Thursday, he overcame whatever doubts he may have had and announced he was pulling America out of the landmark agreement. "He put America's interests first, with respect to environmental agreements and global discussions".

There was a mix of dismay and anger across the world.

Trump has always been skeptical of climate change, despite vast scientific evidence showing that human activity has contributed to the problem, and has repeatedly suggested that it is a "hoax".

California and other USA states vow to lead as Trump exits Paris climate pact.

"And I think cities right now have to take the lead, so we are going to follow the goals of the Paris Accord", Bill de Blasio said. The decision has no direct impact on major US regulations on power plants and vehicle rules now aimed at reducing carbon emissions, although those are now under review by Trump as well. "It has to be people and planet first, not America first", she said. "We're going to look very carefully".

As the world's largest economy, America's exit will raise questions about the fate of the accord, though China and European Union are set to announce an alliance to take on a leadership role determined to protect the Paris Accord, calling it "historic" and "irreversible". "Climate change will see our farmers facing longer, more severe droughts and all of us experiencing more frequent intense storms and flooding".

Trump used American jobs as the cornerstone of his speech, deeming the Paris agreement as a policy that disadvantages the USA and will result in the loss of jobs, lower wages, shuttered facilities and "vast economic reduction", that would impose "draconian financial and economic burdens" on the U.S.

There were opportunities presented in the Paris Agreement.

The vast majority of scientists believe global warming is mainly the result of human activities including power generation, transport, agriculture and industry.

Barbara Hendricks said other countries will fill the leadership void left by the United States but none will be expected to make up the shortfall in emissions reductions caused by Washington's exit.

He spoke with Trump for months about the need to tackle global warming, something the President once dismissed as a "hoax".

Earlier on "Fox News Sunday", EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt responded to such claims, saying: "We're the United States". The U.S. has contributed significantly to global emissions and therefore has a moral obligation to lead in reducing emissions and support poorer economies in contributing to the global effort, said Modise.

"Greenpeace activists projected Trump's silhouette onto the side of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin along with the words "#TotalLoser, so sad!" He openly challenged the scientific consensus that the climate is changing and man-made carbon emissions are largely to blame.

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk, and Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger said they would leave White House advisory councils after Trump's move.

In announcing his decision, Trump said he was "elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris". "This was neither submitted to nor ratified by the U.S. Senate, and is not in the best long-term economic interest of the United States", he said.

Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said on television the withdrawal would help keep US energy markets competitive, allowing for a potential for coal.